


A Series of Blackouts

by sublimeWaves



Series: 25 EXO Challenges [7]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Bars and Pubs, F/M, Lies, M/M, past Baekhyun/Taeyeon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-25 13:44:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7535011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sublimeWaves/pseuds/sublimeWaves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Where the lead vocalist of an up and coming college band falls in love with the lead guitarist/vocalist of a ‘rival’ band and proceeds to serenade him at every opportunity to get his attention.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Series of Blackouts

**Author's Note:**

> Emotion: New Love  
> Word: College  
> Theme: Underground

Baekhyun tries not to be nervous as he finds out through social media that Lightning Fusion, Fuse for short, is transferring to his university.  Fuse is one of the many bands to appear on the scene in the past two years but surprisingly has not fizzled out but has grown in popularity.  Even their university, three towns over from Fuse’s home base, has quite a large fanbase according to the whispers about them at the bars Baekhyun plays at.  It’s not surprising they would transfer to the best university in the region for music.

Over the past two years, Baekhyun’s band, Blackout, has been making small waves in the underground band scene.  The original three members had shook in their shoes the first time they did their set at the most popular college spot, Big Shot.  They were to play right before the super popular senior band, Sugar Juice.  Now they play several venues as headliners, for shit pay (because none of the bars payed anything that substantial), but it was something.

There were many bands in their area, six that play the circuit just like them.  They were all friends to the band, but there were only so many venues that they all could play in the city.  Another band, one that came out their year with a similar sound could make it so that Blackout wasn’t as popular anymore and Baekhyun has put too much effort into this band.

It greatly worried him that Fuse was coming.  He heard about it three weeks before the term started and each passing day made him seem a bit more pressure to do better at shows and come up with material that was just absolutely great.  Chanyeol, Blackout’s drummer, seemed to notice Baekhyun’s renewed drive quite quickly.

Baekhyun met Chanyeol during his first year of high school.  They bonded over snickering at the same time during the more risqué scenes of the book they were reading aloud in the back row and had been best friends since.  Unsurprisingly, since it was a school that was geared towards the arts, Chanyeol was talented and creative.  Luckily, it was in music.  Chanyeol had made a bet with Baekhyun about what instrument he played and still to this day does not know how Baekhyun chose correctly on the first try.  It did not hurt Baekhyun that the young boy had his drumsticks sticking out of his backpack at the time.  The boy doesn’t need to know that.

The pair grew up writing songs late at night as Baekhyun strummed on his guitar and Chanyeol on his drums.  Sometimes, Baekhyun would sing, his vocal training far from being complete.  It was not a band, but they wanted it to be.  The two had parents that were against it and they could never find anyone else to be members and they did not think they could support a band just by themselves, so they waited.

Their freshman year had them rooming together and low key trying to find band members.  They were going by the practice rooms of the music building before class when Chanyeol found an amazing pianist.  The musician loved improvisation and had a way of combining sounds that intrigued Chanyeol.  The duo had stalked Kyungsoo for a while before deciding whether to talk to him or not.  Kyungsoo was a quiet, brooding kid who did not have many friends but was musically gifted.  They asked him to join after two weeks and were rejected.  They asked every day after that, persistence being in their nature.  Kyungsoo finally gave into coming to a jam session and was surprised enough that he stayed.  Blackout was formed soon after.

They started playing small gigs at horrible hours. One boy, who was a waiter at the time for one of the most famous bars called Big Shot, would see them come in at five in the afternoon, when the place was dead, and talk them up.  The boy, Jongin, was handsome which was might also be a reason they had taken him as a friend at the time.  It soon became clear to them that the boy was a bit too young, by a year, to be working at the bar but was being paid under the table while he went to high school.  He was paying for dance classes and hoped to get into the school for dance when auditions came around.

Casually, he mentioned he had a friend who played the bass and was interested in the school.  The three knew that they would sound better if they had a bass so they asked to see the kid.  Scrawny, tall, _young_ Sehun was Kai’s best friend and played a wickedly good bass.  The band could not have said no.  Sehun enrolled the next year and the band was complete.

There was still the problem that Sehun had skipped an early grade and was too young to be at the bar and drink _but_ no one is really going to mention that.

Also, during that first year of college, Baekhyun had fallen in love with a senior who also happened to be the lead vocalist of Sunny Nights Sunny Days, an all-girl band.  She was the star of the school, still is given she is now a grad student, loved by everyone.  The fans loved her, teachers loved her, bandmates loved her, and she always had a line of suitors waiting to take her out of singlehood. 

Meeting through the band circuit, somehow Baekhyun charmed her into a date.  They dated for about a year.   She was gorgeous, the perfect girl in most people’s eyes.  He could not understand why she picked him. It was the case of the perfect girlfriend, she was nice, funny, and just as invested in music as he was.

After nine happy months, and so many love songs that Chanyeol cut Baekhyun off from song selections, Taeyeon started to act a bit weird.  She became gradually more distant.  Looking back on it, Baekhyun realized that it had happen much earlier.  She would stay out later with school and her band, choosing to focus on anything that was not Baekhyun.  When he asked her if anything was wrong she had said that everything was good, she was just swamped with work.

Baekhyun understood, his own band starting to rise in popularity with the addition of Sehun.  It was then that he realized that she was outright avoiding him, lying to him where she was including where her band was playing.  He confronted her and she had blown up about him being boring and that their relationship was boring her.  She had lied since the beginning of their relationship.  Taeyeon had only dated him so other people would stop asking if she was single.

Baekhyun was heartbroken, probably still is if he was being honest.

Tonight is the weekend right before the new school year and Blackout plays Big Shot.  The set is good and there is an okay crowd, the rest of the student body not back from break.  Afterwards, Chanyeol and Sehun head home as they had both gotten sick recently.  This leaves Baekhyun at the bar as he watches Kyungsoo and Jongin talk.  Radioactive Valentine, a younger all-girl band plays for the dwindling later crowd.

Baekhyun is cradling a beer, on the house for playing, when a man looking about his age sits down next to him.  The man signals to Jongin that he wants gin of some sorts, voice muffled.  The place is loud, focus on Radioactive Valentine and it is hard to hear anything.  The man turns towards him and says, “I liked your set!” 

The guy has brown curly hair hidden under a snapback.  His eyes squint when he smiles.  He dresses in dark colors but despite that he gives off a friendly vibe due to his smile.

“Thanks,” Baekhyun responds.  The boy is cute and Baekhyun likes that sort of thing, at least the enthusiasm, so he proceeds to keep the conversation going.  “Is this your first time hearing us?”

“It is.  People I know have been talking about you and I wanted to check you out.”  The man grabs his now ready drink as Jongin leaves in front of him.  He has an elbow on the table, turned towards Baekhyun, full attention on the singer.

“Do you mean from the university?”  Baekhyun asks.

“I have always liked live music and music in general.”  The man says, his eyes trained on Baekhyun.  “I just transferred here for music, actually.”

“That explains how this is your first time seeing us.”  If the guy was from around the university, then he had to of seen Blackout at some point or another especially if this was his type of scene.  “Have you seen anyone else from around here?”

“Just you and Radioactive Valentine up there.”  The guy takes a drink.  “I just got into town two days ago.”

“You transferred to a good place,” Baekhyun says.  “We’ve got one of the best scenes around.”

“I’m sure I’ll enjoy myself.”  The guy laughs a bit into his drink.  “I loved your set and I am liking what I am hearing right now.”

Baekhyun laughs at this.  “I mean we _are_ the best around.”

“The best around?”  The man’s eyebrows rise a bit.  He turns to Baekhyun, abandoning his drink.  “Well they’ve got you.”

Baekhyun snorts.  He already liked this guy.  “You’re a flirt.”

The man responds by putting his hands up and shaking his head.  There’s a small smirk on his face.  “Oh, nothing like that.”

“My name is Baekhyun.”

The man smiles.  “Jongdae.”

The two talk the next hour about Baekhyun’s set which evolves into music in general.  Jongdae compliments almost everything about his band, sprinkling a few critiques in there as well.  He sings as well so he talks about the overall sound and what he thinks will sound good.  He also seems to have band experience from what Baekhyun has caught on to.  Baekhyun likes the critiques, agrees with some of them, too.  The man is easy to talk to and soon they are talking about bad vocal teachers, bands they like, and the university itself in no time.  The best thing about Jongdae is when he talks about his experience singing live.

“When I sing, I feel like I _am_ music.  It almost fills me with something that I…”  Jongdae trails off as he looks at his hands and then back at the blonde before him.  “It’s like an adrenaline shot to the heart.  It’s _my_ zone.  My _world_.  Everything else disappears and it is just _me_ left there, bare for the world to see.  My skin vibrates and it’s the happiest feeling I have ever had.  I love it.”  There’s a shine to his brown eyes and a smile, warm and inviting, on his face.  “Sometimes, if you play with others, sometimes they get to come in as well because sometimes they are the music as well.”

Baekhyun understands more than his companion knows.  He gets that feeling sometimes when he playing a really good show.  It comes in waves during practice or a late night when he writes lyrics with Chanyeol.  It’s in Kyungsoo’s face when he loses himself in classical pieces.  It was what Baekhyun saw in all of his bandmates which is why he choose them to make this band with them.

Jongdae continues, scratching the back of his head nervously, “That doesn’t make much sense.”

The singer smiles a bit and looks over to his gorgeous companion.  His voice comes out low and not very audible.  “I get it.  I really do.”

“I thought you would.”

Baekhyun likes him.  The more he looks at him the more he likes him.  He’s not sure he wants to keep the guy as just a friend but the guy laughs at his story of Chanyeol and his account of finding a porn mag in one of the vocal teacher’s desk and Jongdae’s laugh is enough for him to want something more.  He puts a hand on the man’s thigh as a signal to step up his game.  He knows that he is a good flirt, has been complimented on it by a lot of different people.  Taeyeon had liked when he bit his lips during a set, at least he hope that wasn’t a lie as well.

Jongdae spots Kyungsoo down a ways at the bar.  He’s talking to Jongin about something or another.  Baekhyun’s companion takes his glass and gestures to him.

His companion makes a small noise of amusement.  “The bartender is _smitten_ with your keyboard player.”  Baekhyun rolls his eyes in response.  No one has ever been able to decipher Jongin’s familiar unwavering gaze.

“Jongin is like that with _all_ of his friends.  He even looks at _me_ sometimes like that and we would be ridiculous together.”

“If I was him I would look at you like that all the time.” 

At that moment, Baekhyun refuses to look at Jongdae.  He couldn’t with _that_ being said to him.  He’s pretty sure no one has ever even come close to saying something like that ever to him, or at least as smoothly as Jongdae, and it leaves him a bit breathless.  In an attempt to recover, he laughs a bit and tries to make a witty comment but it comes out a bit vainer than he would like in response to something that sent chills down his back.  “I’m that irresistible?”  Thankfully, the brunette just laughs his incredibly infectious laugh which gets Beakhyun laughing as well. 

Radioactive Valentine stops playing about thirty minutes to closing.  Kyungsoo leaves at the end of their set, walking over to Baekhyun to tell him and also meet Jongdae.

It’s near closing.  At this time, Jongdae _should_ be touching him at least a little bit as a sign of interest.  Usually, it is a hand on his knee that may or may not massage the skin there or a hand on the shoulder every so often, usually at the end of a joke or a witty statement.  This is not happening and instead Jongdae is just smirking a bit with his eyes focused on him.  The focus is what gets Baekhyun since it means that he is much more shit-faced than his companion.  Well if Jongdae, doesn’t have the balls, then he does.

“How’s your drink?  Can I have a taste?”  Baekhyun slides his hand over the other’s arm on its way to where his hand is holding his gin.  The touch is that of a ghost, almost there and leaving goosebumps which causes Jongdae to still.  _Perfect_.  Wrapping his hand around the glass, in between strong calloused fingers, he lifts the drinks and takes a long drink.  He makes sure to flick his eyes innocently towards the man at the same time and licks his lips when he is done.  There’s a glint in the man’s eyes.  Baekhyun starts to think he is going to have a good night.

Jongin comes to say that the bar is closing.  The two get up and leave.  Jongdae isn’t touching him.  Jongdae lives in an apartment on the north side and Baekhyun on the east side.  Baekhyun doesn’t want to part and is sure he has given enough signals but Jongdae just leaves, a number left on a piece of paper as Baekhyun calls a cab that he had offered to share.  He texts the number as soon as he gets into the taxi and gets an immediate response and he smiles, no longer disappointed.

Jongdae texts normally, punctuation and all, but sometimes will just answer in memes.  It infuriates Baekhyun who in return decides to only respond with emoji.  The two quickly start to text during the next week as the university starts its new term.  Chanyeol calls him the texting buddy.  Sehun keeps asking if he’s hot throughout the week while Chanyeol just assumes Baekhyun is madly in love.  Kyungsoo gives no fucks about the situation, turning to his phone to wait until the conversation turns to a new topic.

The two mostly text about funny things that have happen but sometimes they talk about some deeper things, usually about music or lyrics.  Jongdae talks about being away from his family for the first time.  He worries about his parents and they keep calling him to see if he is okay.  Baekhyun tells him how he sings at Kings, another local bar, at least once a week to destress.

He also tells the newcomer about Big Shot’s Battle of the Bands that happens every semester.  All the bands play one night and are ranked according to the general populace.  There was no prize for winning, but it did let the band have bragging rights.  The next one was going to be in two months.

Baekhyun admits to his anxiety about Fuse.  He has not even told Chanyeol how much this is bothering him, although he thinks the oaf knows.  Jongdae is supportive, telling him that they probably just another band and not something to get worked up over.  Maybe the two could even be friends Baekhyun feels at ease, being able to tell someone that.

Baekhyun is not in love but he _is_ glad he did not sleep with this guy that night at the bar and just leave like he knows he would have done.  That is how he treats all his one night stands.  He likes these messages and the man is genuinely funny when he takes bored pics of his classes and sketches on his one roommate’s face, Yixing, who seems to be able to fall asleep anywhere or his other roommate’s face, Minseok, as it scrunches up when he gets angry. 

It feels like when Taeyeon started to talk to him, when she genuinely seemed interested.  There is this small doubt in Baekhyun’s mind that Jongdae is just like Taeyeon but the bigger part of himself is telling him that he is just being silly.

He tells Kyungsoo this on Friday right before the Fuse gig.  Kyungsoo is a level headed person who gives good advice consistently more than the other two band members, so he is trustworthy.  He tells Baekhyun to go for it.  Baekhyun tells Jongdae he is going to Big Shot that Friday quite late into the day so that the night brings simultaneous dread and excitement.

Only Fuse is playing that night at Big Shot and Blackout plus Jongin wait in anticipation for the reveal.  Half of Summer Nights Summer Days are there as well including Baekhyun’s ex whom is actively trying to avoid.  Jongdae is nowhere to be seen but Baekhyun assumes he is just lost in the packed crowd.

The stage is dark when the three figures take the stage: a drummer, a guitarist, and a lead vocal from the look of it.  There are screams, the fangirls already hyped up, as they get into position, the light obscuring their faces.  The lead singer goes up to tap on the mic.

“Hello?”

Baekhyun’s heart stops. “Oh my God.”

Chanyeol hums as he looks to Baekhyun standing next to him.  Baekhyun’s eyes are wide and it looks like he is about two seconds away from having a heart attack.

Lights reveal Jongdae and his two roommates.  Jongdae’s hair isn’t hidden under a snapback and it is messed up just right.  He’s also wearing a sleeveless shirt and leather pants.  He looks _good_. 

Baekhyun has made the biggest mistake of his life.  Kyungsoo is laughing with Jongin like it is the biggest joke of the century.

“How are you doing?”  Jongdae asks the crowd who respond with loud shouts.  He points to himself.  “My name is Chen, this is Xiumin, and this is Lay and we are Lighting Fusion.”  His always sleeping roommate seems to be their guitarist and the other seems to be a drummer.  Baekhyun is in shock as Jongdae continues.  “Are you ready to have a good time?”

Baekhyun’s jaw has detached itself and is now falling to the ground.

“He’s hot and all but you’re being dramatic.”  Sehun turns up his nose as he watches his bandmate have an existential crisis.

Baekhyun can barely say anything but manages out a “Jongdae.”

“Where?”  Chanyeol asks.  He’s heard so much about this boy.  Baekhyun points to Chen.  Chanyeol laughs so loud people turn to look at him as the set starts.  The music is loud, bombastic, as the band starts their first song.  “That’s Jongdae?”

Sehun is trying to cover his face with his hand to keep from laughing.  “This is golden!”

“Way to pick them.”  Chanyeol pipes up.

“I see why you like him.”  Jongin teases as he hands Baekhyun a shot.  He looked like he needed one which Baekhyun downs in less than a second.

“They’re really good.”  Kyungsoo says, ignoring Baekhyun’s drama after his short laughing period and is now concentrating on the reason they had even showed up at Big Shot that night.

Fuse isn’t just good.  They are great, fantastic.  Jongdae’s voice cuts through the loud rock music produced by the instruments.  It draws people in, demanding to be heard and remembered.  Their first two songs are about love and they sell it.

It’s the way his tongue rolls as he pronounces the lyrics that makes Baekhyun feel as if air is being flown onto his neck.  There is a sultriness in his voice that holds promises about late night rumbles and overwhelming pleasure.  As his voice lowers as he finishes a verse, there is anticipation that teeters on the edge of the natural pause where the instruments lighten up their sounds that concludes with a soft smile that whispers to Baekhyun’s mind that the early morning would be welcomed with a warm body next to his and not an empty space that he is oh so used to.  It made Baekhyun want to believe in those honeyed words.

Alas, he does not and turns back to his beer at the counter of the bar.  Jongin nudges him to tell him to look at the way Jongdae is looking at him, but he can already feel those eyes burning into the back of his head and he refuses to be seduced.  Not by a man who comforted his fears about a band and failed to mention that he was part of said band.  Not by a _liar_.

There is a pause after the second song to let them drink some water.  With so many bodies, Big Shot gets really hot and the three members are all dressed in leather of some sort.  Yixing/Lay (Did Jongdae lie about their names, too?) speaks up as they get ready for their third song.  “You wanted to dedicate this song, right?”

“Yeah, to my muse.”  Baekhyun’s eyes are wide as he looks up to the singer on stage.  Something within him seems to drop.  Jongdae continues.  “We just wrote this song, so I hope you enjoy it.”

This song is straight up about sex, there is no sugar coating it.  The lyrics are harder to make out on this song but the crowd jams to it all the same.  Halfway through the song, his eyes find Baekhyun in the venue as he sings the next verse, voice reaching his deeper register.   Baekhyun melts under the stare.

_I want to light up your skies with a burst of light._

He maintains eye contact and flutters his eyes.  Baekhyun almost dies right there and then.

“That was so hot.”  Sehun says as the group stares at Baekhyun, obviously catching the dead on stare and change of voice.  Some of the girls of Sunny Nights Sunny Days cheer and Baekhyun is mortified.

“Looks like Chen here has a little crush.”  Chanyeol sing songs and Baekhyun hits his shoulders to make him shut up.

Sehun grabs his attention, a hand on his shoulder.  The band needs Chanyeol even if he is being a dick.  “I’m pretty sure that is an invitation to bang.” 

The set lasts six songs and the three musicians are drenched in sweat as they come down from the stage.  They are swarmed with fangirls.  The bar starts to clear soon afterwards.  Baekhyun wants to leave as well, but the rest of Blackout seems to think that is just a ridiculous plan.

As the crowd thins, Fuse starts to make their way over to Blackout.  The rest of Blackout sans Baekhyun snicker as they come closer.  Jongdae, looking great even with a bunch of sweat, bounds over to Baekhyun.  “Hey, how did you like the set?”

“What the fuck was that?”  Baekhyun asks, furious that the man in front of him had the audacity to even ask that as his first question.  The rest of Blackout are turning towards the conversation.

Jongdae smirks a bit as he tilts his head innocently.  His two band members have caught up to him and are standing behind him.  “What do you mean?”

“What do _I_ mean?  You’re the vocalist of Fuse, you liar!”  Baekhyun accuses.  He was furious.  This man was a liar and Beakhyun _loathed_ liars.  What did Jongdae have to gain from this?

“You sure this is your muse,” Minseok asks Jongdae.

“Of course it is.”  Jongdae answers.

Baekhyun could not take this.  “Fuck you!  I’m out of here.”

“Wait, I thought we could…”

“That was before you kept the fact that you were the head of Fuse from me, Jongdae.  I don’t even know if your name is actually Jongdae!”  Baekhyun shoves himself past Sehun and out of the little circle that has formed around him and Jongdae.  He walks out of the bar, after creating this small scene.  He hails a taxi immediately with Chanyeol running up to him and taking the taxi with him.  The ride is quiet.

“I know you are mad but aren’t you being hard on the kid?”  Chanyeol asks.  “He looked devastated.”

Baekhyun crosses his arms.  “You know I hate liars.”

He cannot hide from Jongdae forever, considering they are now playing the same band scene and go to the same school.   Actively avoiding Jongdae is harder than it seems especially at the music building.  Baekhyun is cornered after one of his vocal lessons and he wants to turn the fuck away at the sight of Fuse’s lead singer.  Chen has sent at least thirty texts to Baekhyun and has been promptly ignored.

Baekhyun has yet to see the man anything but smiling or intrigued but here he was, eyebrows furrowed together and mouth in a straight line. 

“Why haven’t you been returning my messages?”  Jongdae asks as the blonde is trying to find a way out of the corner and out the door at the end of the hallway.  It is late into the day and no one else in in the halls to witness his struggle.

Realizing he is going to have to have a conversation with this man.  “You lied to me about being in Fuse and you know I consider Fuse my rival.”

Jongdae seems to be able to keep up so far.  “So?”

“Therefore you are my rival and I cannot associate with you.”  Baekhyun really wants Jongdae to just go away right now.  After the concert two Fridays ago he was aware that the problem might be so much bigger than he expected with Fuse.  Fuse had an enormous fanbase and he saw a lot of Blackout fans there as well.  On top of that, he wasn’t in the mood to forgive any liars today or in the near future.

Disbelief is all over Jongdae’s face.  “Are you kidding me?”  He sputters out.  “We’re just another band! Aren’t you friends with Radioactive Velvet and SHIMmer and all those other bands?”

“They’re different.”

“How?”  Jongdae demands.

“They just are.”

“You’re making no sense!”

This argument is starting to make Baekhyun feel frustrated, making the simmering hatred in his gut turn a bit nasty.  “Your band is my band’s rival, so we can’t be friends and I defiantly can’t be your muse so get out of my way.”

Baekhyun runs underneath Jongdae’s outstretched arms and makes it to the door before he realizes that the other is not following him.

That night, at a Blackout band practice, Baekhyun speaks out to the rest of the band.  “We need to destroy Fuse at Battle of the Bands this year.”

“Why?”  Sehun asks, laid back on the ratty couch in Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s apartment, not even close to his instrument.  He seems to be texting Jongin.  “It’s not like anyone really cares about it.”

“Fuse is going to ruin us as a band by taking our opportunities and our fans.”  Baekhyun rationalizes.  Kyungsoo scoffs.

“Radioactive Valentine made a killing Saturday night because Fuse was there.”  Kyungsoo says. “If we play with them, especially since we have the same sound, then I bet they’ll become our fans as well.”

The blonde adamantly refuses that logic, strumming on his guitar a bit too harshly.  “They will just be Fuse fans and forget we even exist.”

“People can like more than one band at a time.”  Kyungsoo says.  “Just like how some people unlike you can have more than one thought at a time.”

The blonde frowns at him but doesn’t say more.  Winning an argument with Kyungsoo was hard and Baekhyun was tired after his run in with Jongdae today.  Chanyeol speaks up from his spot next to Sehun on the couch, drums on the other side of the room.  “Is this about Jongdae?”

Baekhyun turns around a bit too quickly.  “That ass is a liar, but this is about the _band_.”

Chanyeol sighs, already seeming done with this argument.  “He told you he was in a band, didn’t he?”

“But not _Fuse_.”

“Baekhyun you’re acting like a stubborn child.”  Kyungsoo says.  “The guy has been trying to apologize to you.”

“Am not!”  Baekhyun exclaims.  He had legitimate concerns about his band’s future, even if the others didn’t seem to care.  “We are going to bury Fuse at Battle of the Bands.”

“Literally no one cares about Battle of the Bands.”  Sehun reemphasizes.

“Well, too bad.  Get in place, we should practice.”  Baekhyun says as he gets in place.  It felt good to take the anger he felt towards Jongdae and put it into music.  No one understands Baekhyun.  This guy lied to him and makes him want to bone him, and Baekhyun just wasn’t going to let that happen.

They play Russell’s on Friday to a good crowd and Chanyeol tells them at the Tavern wants them to play the next day.  Chanyeol tells him five minutes into setting up Fuse is playing beforehand.  Baekhyun almost throws his drink at him.  It’s too expensive, the Tavern has always overpriced drinks, to waste so he doesn’t.  The Tavern, a one floor, dark, small pub is crowded, which isn’t really hard to do given such a small place.  Some of a new band this term with a convoluted name that no one ever remembers (Nocturne Cult Technophobia or something strange like that) are there after playing Damsels mostly because no one likes Damsels to stay after shows.

Fuse takes the stage and Baekhyun frowns.  Jongdae has brought back the leather pants and black rims his eyes and Baekhyun is a sucker for well-done eyeliner.  They are in high spirits and the crowd gives off a great energy as they rock along.  Their bassist, Yixing, is a dancer, small moves adding to the set that Baekhyun begrudgingly enjoys.  Chen has none of that grace and moves like an awkward stork.  It’s endearing.  That isn’t what captures everyone’s attention.  It is the small body rolls that he adds into the songs, emphasized by the leather pants.  Baekhyun refuses to comment on the moves, even to himself.

The third song has Jongdae stopping and talking.  Baekhyun wishes he wouldn’t.  “It looks like my muse is looking a bit down.  Let’s cheer them up.”  The crowd simultaneously cheers and aws, some asking who the lucky one is.  The crowd seems to be positively in love with the fact that Jongdae has been bewitched by someone. 

The song starts.  It’s a bit slower than usual, but it is a love song, like all of Fuse’s songs.  It’s a viable topic, just a bit overdone. Jongdae body rolls at the end of each refrain and the crowd goes wild.  His mike is on a stand, positioned down so that his head is angled towards the floor, eyes almost closed throughout the song.  He looks up to find Baekhyun in the back, eyelashes fluttering.

_And I would roll with you in the darkness._

Chen rolls his tongue and it sends a vibration from Baekhyun’s shoes up to his brain and then back down again into his grown, utterly captivated.  His cheeks redden.

“You okay?”  Kyungsoo asks beside him.

“Fine, fine, why wouldn’t I be?”  Baekhyun says this a bit too quickly which captures his bandmate’s notice.  He doesn’t press and Baekhyun is grateful.  He drowns his beer and Kyungsoo’s before their set starts.  He focuses on his set, not even bothering to tell Blackout to stop talking to Fuse during their break.

He does not want to admit Jongdae has an effect on him but two weeks later Blackout is at Republic, supporting an all-girl group called Functional who were a bit more electronic than rock, when he realizes that Fuse will be playing again.  They are before Functional and Baekhyun wants to leave.  Even worse is that his ex is there with only two of her band members and are chatting up the other members of Blackout and Jongin who was free tonight.  Luckily, Jongin is talking to Taeyeon so he doesn’t have to.  The only good thing is that one of the bands, SHIMmer, is with them. 

The bar is small, tinier than the rest but Baekhyun is begrudgingly there.  Chen’s hair is straight today, under his black snapback and the sweat is making it look even better.  He’s in the middle of a refrain where there is a small stop and he deliberately slowly licks his lips, making a show of it in Baekhyun’s direction. 

Baekhyun’s mind goes black for a second.

He knows he is straining against his jeans, they’re the ones that hug his ass and makes people stare are a bit, and are unfortunately tight. He feels hot although he hasn’t drank enough tonight to feel the beer blanket, yet. 

At the end of the song, Chen is breathing so heavily that Baekhyun turns in his seat and walks straight to the bathroom.

He runs cold water through his hair to calm down.  His face is made up tonight so he leans his forehead against the cold tile to cool down.  He’s there for quite a while, people coming in and staring a bit at him but leaving him alone.  He doesn’t expect Jongdae comes in after a while.  He’s still breathing a bit hard from singing and Baekhyun really doesn’t need that now.

“Are you okay?”  Jongdae asks.  Baekhyun wants to pretend he doesn’t hear the concern in his voice.  “You missed our last song.”

He searches for a good retort and comes up with a shitty one.  “Your music makes me sick.”

“I know you like it.”  Baekhyun can almost _hear_ the smirk on his pretty little face.

“Says who?”

“Kyungsoo.”  That _traitor_.

Baekhyun tries to laugh it off.  “He doesn’t know anything.”

“Are you okay?”  Jongdae asks again, a bit softer this time.  “You look really red.”

“I’m fine.”  Baekhyun insists and he is barging out of the bathroom.  He knows Chen is following him.  Minseok and Yixing are talking to Sehun and Jongin while Kyungsoo and Chanyeol are talking to the rest of SHIMmer. 

Completely ignoring Jongdae, Baekhyun starts to talk to SHIMmer’s Jonghyun.  Chanyeol starts to talk to Jongdae and Baekhyun wonders when the rest of Blackout became all buddy buddy with Fuse.  He puts up with it for the rest of the night.

Baekhyun always goes to Kings on Wednesday to blow off steam.  Kings was a hipster joint known for their open mic that was only semi open to the public.  They had a sign up where you had to prove to the bartenders that you could sing and then you could sing there anytime you wanted.  The bartenders would give you a mask and you would sing.  The mask was to help those with stage freight.  It was tradition for everyone in attendance to also wear masks for as long as Baekhyun can remember.

Everyone he knew liked it because they could hide and no one would know who they were and they could sing without their dedicated fans yelling about staying in their usual genre or liking pop music.  Chanyeol frequently came here to do some rapping and Kyungsoo sang Justin Bieber.  Baekhyun liked to sing songs that were nice and slow and didn’t strain his voice.

As per usual on Wednesday, the place was barren, only about eight people in total.  He was getting nervous about the Battle of the Bands coming up on Friday.  Not only would Fuse be playing, but it was a great publicity event that you really didn’t want to fuck up at.  He had cracked during a vocal lesson the day before and he just needed to destress.  His song of choice was a blues number, one he was intimately familiar with.  His first girlfriend had loved this song so it was a nice nostalgia trip.

There seemed to be a solo drinker, the bartender, and a group of three in the back who were actively watching him.  All of their faces were covered.  He usually sang here for about twenty minutes, drink one drink, and then leave.  He usually came alone.

At the end of his stage, almost the whole place claps as he walks off the stage and orders a Black Russian as he sits down at the bar.  The three are whispering to each other before one of them goes up to the stage.  It’s really good.  It’s an acoustic rendition on a popular electronic song and the guy has a unique voice that Baekhyun enjoys.  At this point Baekhyun would usually leave, but the guy is great so he stays a bit longer.

Another of the trio goes up afterwards so Baekhyun stays in hopes that he is just as good as his friend.  His friends are supportive as he takes the stage.  His face is obscured and he has a guitar on his shirt.  Guitar man starts his ballad and Baekhyun already knows from the first word that it is Jongdae.  The previous one must have been Yixing (since Fuse was now ‘friends’ with Blackout, their actual names were confirmed to not be lies but they used stage names).

He doesn’t want to admit he loves Jongdae’s voice, but he really _loves_ Jongdae’s voice.  It has such range and he has obviously been trained.  The song was light and airy, and he sang it with a smile on his face.  Performance was perfect for him, reminding Baekhyun of the first week that they texted.  When Baekhyun was happy and wanted to date the man.

Baekhyun thinks about staying past that first song, but something in him, the part which can’t excuse Jongdae from not thinking twice about lying to him, tells him to leave.

Kyungsoo makes him confront his logic for not wanting to be close to Jongdae and Fuse at their next band meeting, the day before the Battle of the Bands.  “Do you still hate Fuse?”

“Of course.”  Baekhyun automatically responds.

Sehun looks up from his bass that he was tuning.  “Wait that wasn’t a joke?”

“I like them.”  Kyungsoo looks at Baekhyun, trying to get his attention.  “Since they have come he have increased profits by like twenty percent or something.”

Baekhyun tries to hold on to his argument.  “We still need to win!”

“Are you really that mad that Chen lied to you?”  Sehun asks.  These questions are starting to irritate Baekhyun.

“Yes, he’s a sneaky evil rival who lies.”

“He really isn’t!”  Chanyeol exclaims.  He is so tired of this attitude from Baekhyun.  “You’re just being stupid.  He likes you, you like him.  Date!”

Baekhyun wishes it was that easy.  “It’s not that simple.”

“Is this about Taeyeon?”  Chanyeol asks.  _That_ crosses Baekhyun’s line right now.  He turns to get into place, shutting down his emotions, just like every other time he gets overwhelmed.

“Can we just play music?”

Baekhyun knew he was being stupid.  Fuse was slightly more famous but has done nothing but help Blackout’s popularity.  Baekhyun wished he could just forgive Jongdae but the fact was that he lied.  He betrayed Baekhyun’s trust from the beginning.  If he was going to lie about that, what else would he lie about?  Would he lie about liking him just like Taeyeon?

Big Shot is full to capacity with a line out the door on the night of Battle of the Bands.  There are eight bands preforming two songs each, but only six are to be ranked.  Sugar Juice’s whole team isn’t here and they had won the competition so many times so they turned down to be in the ranking.  Sunny Nights Sunny Days were hosting after winning the summer term.  Fuse was to play fourth and Blackout was to play fifth. 

The energy from the crowd for all the bands was outstanding, unbelievable.  It pumped the bands up and everyone was giving it there all.  Battle of the Bands was always known to be good and this one was shaping up to be the best.

Fuse had the benefit for playing after the crowd favorite SHIMmer, so they had a bit of momentum rolling over, giving them an advantage.  Baekhyun almost didn’t want to watch Fuse perform.  He didn’t want to deal with the drama surrounding him and Jongdae, certainly not wanting to confront how the man made him feel.

Fuse’s first song was an explosive piece that the crowd had always loved, one of their most famous songs.  Jongdae was preforming even better today than Baekhyun had ever seen him, feeding off the energy of the crowd. He talked before the second song, a bit out of breath.  Chanyeol nudged Baekhyun so that he would look up.

“This song is dedicated to the one I think of when I sing, my muse.”  The crowd awws, as they always do, before the drums start and the music plays.  It’s upbeat, one to bang your head to.  His head is angled a bit down at the standing mic but he doesn’t take his eyes off Baekhyun who is just in the middle of the crowd.  Most don’t notice, too into the music and dancing, but Baekhyun does.  Baekhyun can feel the pressure crushing him.

The band change is quick, it needs to be tonight with so many bands performing, but Chen still stops him as he gets on stage.   “Good luck,” He says as lips brushing Baekhyun’s ear.  Baekhyun’s mind goes blank but he tries to push it aside as Blackout performs. 

Despite his nervousness, the show is one of the best he has ever had the pleasure of playing.  The energy is just right and he has a lot of fun, as does the rest of his band.  He’s glad he is a bit tipsy for this but the crowd loves them.  They jump off the stage with high spirts and he drowns a shot of Vodka.  Before he can register anything in the large crowd, he is being pulled by Jongdae to the bathroom as Taeyeon introduces the last band, Functional.

The bathroom is empty, everyone enjoying Functional’s set, the band playing so loud that the bathroom door barely muffles the sound.  Jongdae stands in front of him, leather pants and all.  Baekhyun starts out. “Pretty shitty of you to make me nervous before my set.”

“Well you know I want to win.”  Jongdae smiles a bit before softening it.  “Truthfully, I wasn’t even thinking of that.”

“Of course you weren’t,” Baekhyun says airily.  He waits for Jongdae to talk about whatever they need to talk about.  If he is lucky, Functional will finish their set and the two will not be able to talk because of the final results being announced.

“Do you seriously think we are rivals?”  Jongdae asks.  Baekhyun doesn’t respond and the guy is running his hand through his sweaty hair and he is sighing.  He looks dejected, broken down.  “I like you.  I’ve been pretty obvious about that and I just need you to tell me either to back off or not.  You’re sending me mixed messages.”

“Mixed messages,” Baekhyun says as he tries to figure out what that means.  Jongdae looks so sincere in front of him right now, vulnerable.  “You’re the one who calls me your muse without my permission.”

“Because it’s the truth.  Your voice...”  Jongdae trails off.  He looks like he is trying to come up with the right words and he is failing.  “I haven’t heard anything like it.  That night at Kings was _captivating_.”

“Thanks.”  Baekhyun says.  He’s proud of his voice and if this was any other person he would be gushing about Jongdae’s voice right back.  All of the alcohol and band high has worn off and Baekhyun feel _so_ tired.  “Look, I cannot be with someone who lies to me.”

“I didn’t mean to.  It was supposed to be a surprise and it was supposed to be comforting.  If you found out it was me, I thought it would calm your nerves since you viewed us as friends and not rivals,” Jongdae explains.  “It just backfired on me.  I would have told you that night after your set if I knew it would have turned out like this.”

Baekhyun had not thought of it that way.  The guy wasn’t trying to be mean, he was trying help him.  It had just turned out wrong.  Other than that ‘lie’ (which now Baekhyun wasn’t even sure he could call malicious unlike Taeyeon’s) there was absolutely nothing wrong with Jongdae.  His fears about Fuse taking Blackout’s spotlight had been quelled long ago.

If Jongdae was going to explain his behavior, then Baekhyun should explain his.  “This isn’t about Fuse.  Look…  I dated a lead singer of another band who used to lie to me all the time and then we broke up because she lied about liking me since the beginning.  I thought that you were going to turn out like that.”

“Taeyeon.”  Jongdae says and Baekhyun looks up surprised.  “I asked about you to some of the other bands.  I’m not lying.  I really do like you.  I don’t just call anyone my muse or anyone ever like that.”

Jongdae steps forward, closing the gap between them and Baekhyun lets him.  There is something in him that believes Jongdae and there was nothing to hold him back from leaning forward and letting their lips press into each other.  Baekhyun hadn’t kissed anyone in quite a while, he forgot how nice it felt.

Baekhyun pulls back first from the quick peck.  “I’ve been so stupid.”  His lips brush by Jongdae’s as he talks.

Jongdae laughs, that big hearty laugh, making him have to step away from Baekhyun.  “I’m just glad this isn’t really about band rivalry because that was kind of stupid.”

“It was.”  The blonde admits, a small laugh escaping his lips.  It is quickly replaced by a smirk and a challenge.  “I never saw you as competition anyways.”

“Oh, is that how it is going to be?”  Jongdae asks.  He steps forward again, pushing Baekhyun against the wall.  “Fuse is going to win so I don’t even know what you are talking about.”  He rolls his hips a bit and capture’s the moan with his lips.

“Baekhyun, this is disgusting even by your standards,” Kyungsoo says as he enters the bathroom, interrupting the two as they pull away from each other, both a bit red.  “That wall probably has at least six STIs.”

Baekhyun doesn’t have much time to think.  “Your face is an STI.”

“Is it awards time?”  Jongdae asks, as if the boy had not just found them hooking up.  Kyungsoo nods.  The singer smiles really wide, taking Baekhyun out by the arm as they join the bands that have gathered by the bar.  Everyone notes them and Sehun says, “Finally.”

 

 

 

 

 

SHIMmer ends up winning.

It is a heartbreaker for both Fuse and Blackout but they do get second and third respectively.  Fuse rubs it in Blackout’s Face but nothing can really dampen Baekhyun’s spirit as he sips his beer and leans just a little bit into Jongdae’s side.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a fun one to write!  
> I would like to state that I love Taeyeon. I just needed a plot device and she worked as the evil ex.  
> Trying to find a band name for NCT was so hard!  
> I hope you enjoyed the fic!


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